Hosiery-supporter.



WLB'ACH. HOSIE RY 'S UPPORTER. APPLICATIONTILED'OCT. 1a. 1916.

1 %3@0 Patented Dec. 4, 191?.

vemfcaz WILHELMINA. RAGE, OF WEBSTEE GROVES, MISSOURI.

HOSIEBY-SUPPOETEE.

narrates,

Specification of Letters Patent.

' Patented nee, 4, rear.

Application filed October 18, 1916. Serial No. 126,242.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILHELMINA EACH, a citizen of the United States, residin in the'town of Webster Groves, county St. Louis, State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hosiery-Supporters, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in garment supporters and more particularly to devices of this class for supporting stockings, hose, etc.

The articles now utilized for this purpose may be roughly divided into two classes, garter supporters-which include an elastic band that is fitted in encircling position around the wearers limb and carries a depending strip of suitable material provided with a fastener at its lower extremity for attachment to the hosiery, and suspension supporters which have their upper ends attached to an undergarment or otherwise suspended and their lower extremities attached to the stocking or other article of hosiery.

My improved device is designed as a compromise between, and combination of both of these classes in that it is suspended from a garment and also has a band encircling the wearers limb, and possesses the best points of both without any of the disadvantages of either as well as certain novel features and advantages peculiar to its own construction.

Briefly considered, my suspension supporter comprises an upper vertical member or strip of elastic material which is adapted to be attached to and suspended from an under garment or the like, a lower band of elastic material adapted to be secured in entill circling position around the limb of a wearer, and over the top of the stocking or the like, means for suspending said band from the lower end of the upper vertical member or strip and an attachment member depending from an intermediate portion of the upper vertical member or strip and having a suitable fastener at its lower extremity for attachment to an article of hosiery.

The objects of my invention are to so construct the device, that the stocking or other article will be held lightly and evenly in position' at its top around the limb of the wearer and also positively supported from an under garment to so lessen the contraction of the band as to prevent excessive and unpleasant encircling compression of the wearers limb, and to provide an improved device that may be easily, adequately and conveniently attached or detached and which holds the article of hosiery in position by two separate means.

These and other objects and advantages T secure as hereinafter set forth in the following description and as particularly pointed out in the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which embodiments or adaptatlons of my improved supporter are illustrated.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 represents a perspective view of one form of my improved supporter attached in proper position to an under garment and supporting an article of hosiery, a representation of a limb, a stocking on the lower portion of said limb and a portion of a union under garment being also shown in dotted lines to illustrate the correct mannor of arranging and attaching the supporter in correct position.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the improved supporter shown in Fig. 1 in open position looking at the same from a difl'erent point from that shown in Fi 1.

Fig. 3 is' a perspective view of another form of my improved supporter.

Fig. 4 is a detail of the loop fastener or adjustable buckle.

in referring to the embodiments or adaptations of my improvement shown in the accompanying drawings in detail, like numerals designate corresponding parts.

My improved device is a combination suspension supporter and garter, comprising an elastic member or strip of material which is fastened to and suspended from a suitable portion ofa garment or article of wearing apparel and hangs pendant therefrom, a band of elastic material which is fitted around and encircles the upper portion of the stocking and the Wearers limb and is supported from the elastic member and an attachment member su ported from the elastic member and locate above the band, said attachment member being adapted to be detachably tastened to the stocking at a point over the band. With this improvement the stocking is chiefly supported by the attachment member and through the elastic member from a garment, the band being made of light and weak elastic that stretches easily and does not compress the limb excessively or Suficiently to impede the circulation of blood ill lltltl as saidband is utilized principally to form a surrounding and encircling support for the stocking top which will tend to maintain it evenly in position on the limb and for supporting the lower portion of the elastic member from the wearers limb.

In the embodiment or adaptation of my invention shown in Figs. 1 and 2, I have illustrated one form of the device in which the elastic member and the attachment member are constructed in separate parts while in Fig. 3, another form is shown in which the attachment member is made of the same strip of material as the elastic member and forms a lower continuation of said elastic member.

- The form shown in Figs. 1 and 2 comprises an upper member, 1, constructed of a strip of suitable elastic material and having a fastener, 2, for attachment to a garment as shown in Fig. 1, two diver ing supporting members, 3, depending om the lower extremityof the upper member, 1, a band or belt, 4,-to which the lower ends of the sup orting members are fastened, and an attac ent member, 5, which hangs from the upper member and carries 'a fastener, 6, for attachment to the article of hosiery.

The supporting members, 3, are substantially in the form of an inverted V and are preferably attached at their upper ends to the upper member, 1, by a metallic loop fastener preferably constructed substantially as shown in Fig. 4. i

The main body of this fastener is a rectangular loop, 7 of metal and a bar, 8, having a longitudinal slot, 9, is slidably fitted within the loop, being provided at 1ts ends with tubular sleeves, 10, through which the end portions of the loop, 7, fit and slide.

The attachment member is preferably secured to the loop fastener by bending its upper portion around the lower horizontal bar of the loop and suitably fastening it in place, and the lower portion of the upper member, 1, is likewise looped around and fastened to the upper horizontal bar of the cop.

The converging supporting members,'.3,'

are preferably constructed of one strip of material which has its middle portion curled position at its top without perceptibly anment member are constructed in one piece of material and form a combined attachment and supporting member, 14, which carries fasteners, 15, and 16 located at opposite ends thereof.

The loop fastener is slidably fitted on an intermediate portion of the member, 14, and is frictionally locked thereon when in supporting position. The converging support ing members, 17, are adjustably fitted over one of the bars of the loop fastener, and automatically adjust themselves thereon.

A belt, 18, similar to the band or belt, 4, is attached to the lower ends of the supporting members, 17.

In this form of my invention, the parts are so arranged that each one can be adjusted and regulated in length, the combined suspension and attachment member is reversible end for end and the article can be easily dismounted or assembled by anyone. In both forms of my invention an adjusting buckle, 19, may be secured to the upper member for regulating its length.

My improved device for a convenient'and sure supporter for hosiery has two separate means of attachment to the article of hosiery, one, the band or belt which lightly encircles the top of the stocking and the other fastener which is attached to the stocking top.

It will be noted that the band encircles the stocking below the front attachment of the fastener thereby continuously and evenly holding stocking against the limb and securing a much more perfect fit and set for the stocking.

The attachment to the stocking is also preferably between the converging supporting members for the band or belt so that the attachment member and the converging supporting members mutually tend to aid and support each other.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim to be new and patentable is:

1. A stocking supporter comprisin a limb encircling element; a loop element astened at its lower ends at spaced points to said limb encircling element; a loop fastener slidably engaging the upper portion of said loop element, with means for locln'ng same at any point thereon; a vertical suspension element passing through said loop fastener and lockable at any point therein; and means for i eeenee e @3 fastening the upper end thereof to an upper and slidably engaging both the limb encirgarment and the lower end to the stocking. cling and suspension members and lockable at m 2. A stocking supporter comprising a limb any point thereon by means of said. lock bar. encircling member; a loop oined thereto at its spaced ends and extendlng upwardly; a, WILHELMINA EACH.- vertically disposed suspension member for Witnesses: connecting the stocking with an upper ger- OTTO WERNER,

ment; and a loop fastener, having a lock bar, MARTHA E. Hmmn. 

